Benjamin Ward

Name: Benjamin Ward

Gender: Male

Age: 18

Grade: 12

School: Aurora High School

Hobbies and Interests: Football, other sports, student council, bullying other students

Appearance: Standing at 5'10", Ben is a Caucasian man of average height. Weighing in at 207 pounds transforms the average into burly and stocky. His physical training has built up plenty of muscle, more focused in chest and shoulders than in his legs. His dark brown hair is usually cropped short, which he usually doesn't bother styling. Occasionally, he adds some gel to make some menacing looking spikes, but that only happens when he's looking to pick up somebody at a party. His face has a more angular look to it, though not as well defined due to his training. Thin grey eyes are positioned just a touch closer together than average, though not enough to mar attractiveness. Ben is slightly nearsighted, donning a pair of blocky rectangular framed glasses occasionally during class. His long thin nose shows the scar of a hard impact during his junior year. Ben has a fairly big mouth, though not figuratively, which stretches into quite the wide smile, although many of his classmates are more prone to call that smile a sneer.

Around campus, Ben proudly wears his letterman jacket over a light hoodie or long sleeved polo shirt. His preferred shirt is a plain medium grey hoodie, but his wardrobe includes bolder designs and colors. He regularly switches between well-ironed khakis and well-worn jeans, but almost always roams the halls in a pair of white basketball shoes. After school, Ben is often working out with his teammates, during which he switches to a more comfortable pair of loose sweatpants and sleeveless t-shirt. Occasionally, maybe once or twice a month, Ben will attend class with much more formal attire: shirt, tie, and dress shoes. It's on these days that his classmates are more likely to shy away from him, as he's been said to be more easily provoked.

Benjamin Ward was abducted a tight black Hollister t-shirt, a worn pair of blue jeans, and his basketball shoes.

Biography: Benjamin Ward had what most people would consider a normal life. He was in a regular family of four, living the upper middle class life in Seattle. Nothing of extreme excitement or tragedy ever happened in his life: no incidents with the law, no medical emergencies, and no known abductions for Survival of the Fittest.

Ben's father, James, worked his way up the corporate ladder to upper management at the Starbucks Headquarters in order to provide for his family. Understandably, this meant he was, more often than not, working extra hours to get the next promotion, especially early in Ben's adolescence. That didn't stop James from trying to spend as much free time as he could with his son. Free weekends were filled with sports, either out in the park or at home on the television. James introduced Ben to all kinds of sports: basketball, football, soccer, and even golf. Ben came to enjoy all of them, due to the competitive nature of the sports, but the aggressive and physically demanding nature of football drew Ben towards it, a sentiment James encouraged with enthusiasm.

His mother, Mary, did not spend as much time with Ben, preferring to care for his younger sister instead. Working on and off as a real estate agent gave Mary flexible hours, but she just gravitated more toward the younger Elaine. This made sense to Ben: the mother would teach the daughter how to be a lady while the father would teach the son to be a gentleman. To be a gentleman to his sister, Ben grew to be quite protective. Being three years younger than her brother meant that he was rarely around to watch her at all times. This changed once they were both attending Aurora High. Ben already knew most of the boys around, and made quite certain that they all knew what being a suitor would entail.

James' encouragement led to Ben joining Aurora's football team as soon as was possible, which was as soon as he'd enrolled into the school. Ben's natural build made him most suitable for playing on defense, where he served as a veritable battering ram for the team. Ben also joined Aurora's basketball team and soccer team in his freshman and sophomore years, but over time, discovered that his training in football did not leave him with an optimal physical build for those sports. Rather than accept being benched for being unable to perform with the best of his teammates, he instead quit the team to focus more training for his position on the football team.

But his father's words and support didn't stop at that. All through Ben's early life, his father had taught him that the best way to succeed in life was to be on top: to be respected, to be admired, and to be the best he could be. Not only did he teach Ben this, he lived it. James' slow but steady climb through the ranks of the company exemplified everything he taught his son. Every promotion was followed with stories of how James commanded with words, with drive, and with action. Ben took them all to heart.

He didn't have the same natural charisma as his father. He lacked the eloquence and experience that enabled his father to lead. So Ben used what he did have: a blunt unashamed attitude and the physical prowess to back it up. He had no problem making it clear to his fellow students if they were not good enough. Ben worked hard for his team; he trained throughout the year to ensure he'd be among the best defensive player in the state. He worked hard for his position in student council; he campaigned with fervor, reaching out to many of the students involved in athletics and tapping into the pool of students that still believed in school spirit. He even worked hard on his grades. It hadn't taken him long to notice that his peers would be more likely to look up to a person of academic prowess, and Ben decided to capitalize on that. He didn't hide how hard he studied. Ben regularly achieved straight As, though someone who looked closely would see that he excelled more in history than in math or science. His strong academics and athletics achievements landed him a spot in the University of Washington's football team and business program, a fact that Ben was sure to boast about to his classmates. Only people who were strong and smart were considered peers. This was his expectation of everybody.

A more practical way to put it: Ben was drawn to the idea of being a leader, but given his arrogant nature, he hated having to deal with people he'd consider as a waste of his time.

For those who didn't meet Ben's expectations, he gave them a model to aspire to. The insulting words and the harsh tone were not meant to hurt, only to encourage. Some people needed to be dealt with in a more hands-on fashion, but Ben never intended to injure. This was the only way he knew to show that he was the better one, and to show them somebody to admire and follow. It wasn't until his sophomore year, the second time somebody got hurt from a forceful shove that Ben got suspended for a day. His parents blamed it on Ben not knowing his own strength. The fourth time, at the beginning of his junior year, was the first time he'd gone far enough to throw a punch, which earned him another couple days suspension and a visit to the principal for a lecture with his parents. After which, James gave Ben another lecture about more delicate and finer ways to handle his schoolmates. By then, he'd made enough of an impression on his classmates to reduce violent incidents to a minimum level that kept him away from any serious punishments. Ben's reputation and presence did most of the work, especially to the underclassmen.

Advantages: Ben is in excellent shape and holds a physical advantage over a great number of his classmates. Not only is he stronger, he has no reservations in using that strength to gain an advantage over others. Ben has some leadership experience, which could be useful in forming and keeping groups together. His reputation and his skill in bullying others will make it easier to intimidate others to his will.

Disadvantages: Ben's high standards have somewhat warped his perception of his peers, leading to some degree of arrogance. His aggressive and confrontational behaviour has likely earned him many enemies. He's a straightforward thinker, more likely to approach dangerous situations head on instead of considering alternate courses of action.

Designated Number: Male student No. 036

Designated Weapon: D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual

Conclusion: Ooh, a slightly arrogant leader? Sounds like a good Dungeon Master to me. I mean, he also sounds like a bit of a dick, so AD&D might have been better. Too bad we didn't throw in a copy of the Tomb of Horrors. - Dennis Lourvey

'The above biography is as written by Solomir. No edits or alterations to the author's original work have been made.'

Evaluations
Handled by: Solomir, Shangela

Kills: Oscar Trig, Janie Sinneave

Killed By: Joe Carrasco 

Collected Weapons: D&D 3.5 Player's Handbook, Dungeon Master's Guide and Monster Manual (Assigned Weapon, left behind), Weight Bar (Collected from High School grounds), Box Cutter (Collected from High School Cafeteria), Scythe (from Katarina Konipaski, to Joe Carrasco)

Allies: Matt Vartoogian, Jesse Jennings, Christopher Harlin, Brianna Battaglia, Janie Sinneave, Oscar Trig

Enemies: Jaquilyn Locke, Joachim Lovelace, Theodore Fletcher

Mid-game Evaluation:

Post-Game Evaluation:

Memorable Quotes:

Threads
Below is a list of threads that contain Ben, in chronological order.

The Past:

Pre-Game:
 * Variables...
 * Wiping All Out

V5:
 * Welcome to Summoner's Rift
 * Interstice of Time
 * Handoff
 * Fumble
 * Huddle
 * Siblings of War
 * Huddle

Your Thoughts
''Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Benjamin Ward. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!''

Ben could have been something special. He was angry, but contained (mostly). Domineering, but not overly so. Pre-Adoption that is. I feel like there was something lost when Shange adopted Ben. It's not bad inherently, but Shange's Ben was more sensitive, more emotional and prone to overreacting when the situation got out of his control. Solomir's Ben was confident, calculating if not always reasonable, and always felt that he was the leader, even when he wasn't. I think the big tipper for me was that I was promised a prideful man about to face something he couldn't handle, but I got an insecure boy who didn't have it all together to begin with. Like I said, it's not inherently bad, but it's something that's easy to find in SOTF, so I'm a little sad the original portrayal didn't get more time. -- Un-Persona

Benjamin is a character that got into a lot of really cool situations and interacted with quite a few different arcs that spanned V5 as a whole - Matt Vartoogian's arc, Theodore Fletcher's, and ultimately, Joe Carrasco. Though while I find Benjamin himself something of a misfire - Shangela gave an honorable effort, but seemed to just barely miss the right voice for the character - I liked what we saw of him, and he was an important part of the arcs he impacted. -- NotAFlyingToy